Risk Management Committee Practices on Sustainability Accounting Practices among Listed Nigerian Non-Financial Companies

Abstract

The rise of sustainability standards has transformed sustainability accounting from voluntary disclosure into a key component of corporate reporting, driven by regulatory pressures and investor expectations. However, firms in emerging economies face unique challenges and opportunities in linking risk management practices with sustainability accounting. Therefore, this research investigated the effect of risk management practices (RMP) and sustainability accounting practices (SAP) among listed non-financial companies in Nigeria, where RMP was proxied by risk management committee diligence (RMCDIL) and risk management committee independence (RMCIND) on sustainability accounting. The study’s population consisted of 104 listed non-financial firms using a census sampling technique. Secondary data sources were employed through the company’s financial statement for the period, 2013-2022. Descriptives statistics and inferential statistics using generalized method of moment (GMM) regression analysis were conducted to test the likelihood of endogeneity as captured in the non-significance of the coefficients. It was found that risk management diligence exerts a negative but significant on SAP, this suggests that as risk committee effectiveness increases, SAP level tends to decrease. Risk management independence does not have a strong effect on SAP. This study recommends that professional accounting bodies e.g. ICAN and ANAN should incorporate sustainability risk management and sustainability accounting modules into their professional education and curriculum. Policymakers should strengthen corporate governance codes to integrate explicit sustainability duties into risk management committees’ mandates.